sale. save an extra 15% on all regular, sale, and clearance items. everything, no exclusions! save on everything for her, for him, for kids, all jewelry, and home. go to jcp.com to see everything on sale! jcpenney. i'm paul chambers in san jose where there's a heartfelt goodbye to firefighters being laid off today. i'll have the latest coming up. i'm jade hernandez, a judge's decision could affect ac transit riders. the charges oakland police now plan to seek against a man who took over an emergency

room. that's all ahead on ktvu channel 2 news at noon. i'm heather holmes in this new time for tory campbell. we begin in the south bay where it's been very difficult day for for firefighters that are being laid off. >> reporter: one by one the first phase of firefighters being laid off showed up to turn in their gear. >> the reality set in about five minutes ago. >> reporter: 13 of the 49 firefighters are saying their final goodbyes. many staff members came in on their day off to pay their respects. today firefighters were greeted with hugs and given words of encouragement from firefighters. >> he wished us success.

he said it was the first day we meet and hopefully not the last. >> reporter: the new chief which starts tomorrow was here to say goodbye. >> i'm amazed i only made it one year and i'm getting let go. >> reporter: the city is battling a budget shortfall. that's why the city asked the union for a 10%. >> to be said that we have not offered enough is just false. >> reporter: it appears the next step is a binding arbitration. >> we're still trying to strike a deal because we want to protect the citizen, we want to protect their lives. >> reporter: in all their 46 men and three women losing their job. they say they don't blame city

leaders for their job loss, they are just hopeful things can change and they can be back to work shortly. >> i'm just disappointed and frustrated that all we've done to get to this point is gone and there's not much we can do about it. >> i'm hopeful that the right thing can be done and we'll be back soon. >> reporter: union officials say it's tough to lose thesemen and women, but they've already begun to look for new employment for them in other cities. failed equipment led to a fire knocking out power to some 4,000 customers. now the incident happened in front of a large pg & e substation at about 9:30 this morning. a failed switch and cable triggered that small fire that charged that small tree.

workers told us they felt their building shake. >> it was hit by a bunch of fire trucks that came, so it was like, really crazy. >> reporter: the incident also disrupted power to street lights affecting power in that area. power has been restored to almost all of its affected customers. ac transit riders are watching what's tkpwoeug on going on in court right now. jade hernandez is live in oakland with more on today's courtroom show down. >> reporter: good afternoon, this contract affects those who need transportation, those ac transit riders who ride and use bus stops just like these. we are live in oakland this afternoon and this is where we're waiting to hear a judge's decision over whether to lift an imposed contract which forc bus operators the work under a new bus schedule.

we asked what the agency would do if the judge decided against the contract. >> ac transit will be between a rock and a hard place. our finances will not permit this contract to be overturned by the judge. we'll be $15 million in the hole. >> reporter: to give you background about this dispute, ac transit and the amalgamated transit union negotiated but no new contract could be agreed upon. but among other things, it changes over time rules and copay policies for employee health insurance. the contract became effective two weeks ago, ac transit says they've had any where from 15 to 20% more bus operators call

in sick. union president and ac transit will continue to work until they get a contract agreement. >> if it wasn't the fact that service was disrupted, no one would know we were in negotiations. but by ac transit changing the way they put service on the street has caused a disruption and of course they are blaming it on us for not working. when in reality it's not going to work. >> reporter: ac transit tells me if the judge does decide to lift the contract they'll have to look at ways to save money. cutting weekend service would be an option. and right now ktvu's rob roth is inside an alameda county superior courtroom. he is listening to a judge and court hearing proceedings and he'll have a report for you later on tonight. reporting live from oakland, jade hernandez. in southern california about 700 firefighters right now battling a fast moving fire

with an aggressive attack from both the air and the ground. the crown fire is near the center of palmdale. right now it is just 75% contained. fire fighters are putting their efforts to power lines. the fire has consumed about 8,000 acres and it's already destroyed four homes. the flames broke out yesterday and propertied the evacuation of about 2,000 homes, most residents have since though been allowed to return home. a los angeles fire official now says a second man has died from a natural gas explosion that splintered and industrial building. it happened around 6:00 this morning at a welding business that now looks like a pile of match sticks. the second fatality occurred when a man tried to move his truck away from the wreckage and was electrocuted by a

downed power line. so far the search for another employee inside the building has produced nothing. officials believe the explosion was triggered by a gas leak. officials at children's hospital oakland are reviewing security procedures after a frightening hostage operation there this morning. it involved an armed man and an employees. kraig debro has more about the man. >> reporter: he is 49-year-old katrell brodnax. they're going to seek a carjacking charge, a false imprisonment charge and a felon in position of a handgun. this incident was as bizarre as it was rare. a man entered the hospital with a handgun then simply gives up when officers arrive. when the man is finally in custody, brodnack screams two phrases over and over again. no one was hurt but if incident

has people in this neighborhood thinking more about crime. >> reporter: i gave up, i gave up and don't shoot me were the only things we could hear the suspects say. minutes earlier, the suspect let him gun do the talking at 3:15 this morning. >> proximately 20 minutes ago, the suspect gave up. >> folks interacted with the person because he was impaired and seemed to need help. so there was definitely conversation as people were trying to assess what was going on when he walked into the hospital. >> reporter: that's when the man pulled a gun then pulled a staff member to the side and held her against her will. the hospital says their own police called police who arrived within minutes. when police arrived, the man surrendered.

all of it took eight minutes. >> i heard my screaming, but i didn't get out of my bed to look. because living across the street from chinese children's hospital, we always hear screaming with parents moving their kids. >> no one is left having with problems. we're in the better part of oakland we think, but you have to always keep your eyes open. >> reporter: children routinely walk a couple of locks to a secured parking lot. this morning, a spokesperson says just like the feds around the lot, it's employees were prepared for this morning's event. >> no staff were involved or hurt. and i'm extremely proud of the way the staff responded at the hospital. >> reporter: detectives we spoke with late at the hospital

had few other details expect they know believe the suspect was intoxicated instead of experiencing an episode. no one had seen him at the hospital before. as far as preventing something like this from happening again, children's says they'll review their current plan. but there's only so much the business can do and still be in that business. boys in oakland are looking for a man they say attempted two bank robberies within hours of each other. oakland police released this picture from a surveillance camera inside one of the banks. investigators say on the morning of july 17, this man tried to rob a wells fargo bank. then two hours later, police say he tried to rob another

wells fargo this one on 40th street. the man was not given money at either branch. police are offers a reward for information leading to an arrest. police released this sketch of the man who is described as latino, 5'4" tall and weighs about 125 pounds. authorities believe that man waits outside while a 10-year- old boy breaks in. in one case a palo alto resident actually spotted the man waiting outside his house while the homeowner then caught the boy trying to break in. that young boy is also described as latino with long brown hair. 5'tall and weighs about 100 pounds. anyone with information is asked to call palo alto police a call. an accident has solved one of the busiest freeways in the east bay and caught on camera and caught by police, the latest on another incident involving munni and the efforts to reduce crime. some parts of the bay area

may be in for a warmer weekend. our meteorologist mark tamayo is tracking the storms. and tomorrow is a sad anniversary for family and friends of the 3uc berkeley graduates detained in iraq. we hear from family and friends who remember the trio here in the bay area. >> it's just unbelievable that they're still there.

san francisco police are hoping the release of this surveillance video of a nummi stabbing will help prevent crimes on the transit system. the camera caught images of a man being kicked before he was stabbed and that led to the arrest of a 50-year-old suspect. well the stabbing occurred just before 10:00 a.m. tuesday near the nummi platform on third street and lasalle avenue. an accident late this morning stabbed traffic. three lanes of i80 were stalled by the accident. the highway patrol says a big rig ded up on top of a car. injuries are minor, all lanes

are reopened. gulf coast residents are preparing for what could be the last attempt to stop the gulf well leak. industry experts say even though no more oil appears to be seeping from the well, cementing the well shut will close it permenantly. well this weekend there will be rallies and marchs in an francisco to mark a sad anniversary. on saturday, three uc berkeley graduates would have spent an entire year locked up in an iranian prison. today their mothers are making another more insistent plea for their release. they appeared on cnn. and mary's mother nora says it's unbelievable they are still being held. >> there's no crime committed by these three. there's no reason to hold them. there never has been a reason to hold them. we know it's totally political. we know they are being used for political gain and we want this

to end right away. it's long enough. >> it was july 31st last year when iranian police arrested sarah shord. iran accused them of spying. on mornings on 2, a friend of sarah shord says they never imagined this would go on for so long. >> we figured that you know they would be detained, they would figure out that our friends phept no harm to iran, did not intend to enter iran and they would be released -- our friends meant no harm to iran. >> sarah's friends and family are particularly concerned about sarah because she's kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours of the day. and she has medical conditions that are not being addressed. we have information on this weekend's rally in san francisco. there you will also find

lengthy interviews with the friends of the uc berkeley graduates. and there's a drive going on for school supplies. wal-mart is teaming up with two school districts for the weekend long event at union landing. the hayward unified school district in union city brought in buses, and will hopefully drive them back filled with supplies for families that can't afford them. the buses will be parked outside the wal-mart store through 5:00 p.m. on sunday. all right, well it should be a nice day for you to head to union city. hopefully a little warmer. let's check in with our meetologist mark tamayo. maybe that much warmer? >> maybe a little warmer. especially away from the coastline today there will be plenty of sunshine and mild numbers out there. as you can see, here's a closer

look, you see the fog making a come back coast side. still lingering patches around the bay for oakland out toward richmond and right around berkeley as well. the crowd still keeping san francisco on the cool side. san francisco still in the mid- to upper 50s. a look outside, you can see we have clear skies out toward walnut creek with a little bit of a breeze. on track to reach 80s about three or four hours from now. the weather story is this. it has not changed much in the last two or three weeks. fog returns once again overnight, and the weekend, especially by sunday we're going to warm things up a little bit. as far as today, you can see the temperatures range, warmest locations inland around 85, 86, possibly 87 degrees out toward the antioch area. as far as current numbers, just updated them a few minutes ago. napa right now 61. and livermore at last check in the lower 70s at 71 degrees.

this cool air mass has really been cooling off over a good portion of the state. it's going to gradually scoot to the left. we're going to warm up two to three degrees and that will translate to a few upper 80s inland. we're going to be able to warm things up a little bit more in the next few weeks. more sunshine inland but still patchy coastal fog. at 3:00, partly to mostly sunny at 4:00 and partly and sunny conditions favoring the beaches with those temperatures struggling to make it to the 80 degrees mark. san jose mostly sunny skies, 79 and morgan hill 84 degrees. here is a look ahead. you'll notice temperatures up a few degrees into sunday. then into monday and tuesday we're going to warm up those numbers with patchy fog in the

morning. heather i know you're a fan of the warmer temperatures. august might be shaping up to be warmer and that's what you would expect across the bay area. >> my mom was visiting to texas and she was not looking forward to that sweltering head. >> she embraced the fog. >> yes, she did. the event is sort of like a mini bike to workday where bicyclists can enjoy coffee and snacks at a fueling station. today it was open from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. >> it's part of bike coalition ongoing campai to improve safety and ease for cyclists here in san francisco. and also you know bring awareness to the fact that cycling is an important part of alternative transportation here in the city. >> in the face of the gulf oil spill and another one in michigan, coalitions says the particularly important to recognizan alternative means of transportation. well work will start today

to tear down a bay area landmark. if you're looking for a new friend. we'll tell you where you might want to go this weekend. six- our real national pastime?

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state farm insures 40 million drivers. more than geico and progressive combined. i saved because i'm accident-free. of course, with so many ways to save including discounts of up to 40%, having that many customers shouldn't be a surprise. so ask a neighbor about state farm, then call an agent at 1-800-state-farm or go online. it's a rocky session on wall street. as you take a look there at the big board, the dow is up slightly. the nasdaq is off just a few. this afternoon crews will

start tearing down the old terminal c at san jose international airport when the building is done, it will be replaced by a new 1,400 space parking lot right next to the new state of the art terminal b. terminal c has been closed for the last month. construction on the parking lot will begin in october and it's scheduled to begin next spring. the spca began an event this morning to promote pet adoption. it challenges residents to adopt 72 animals over the next 72 hours. the spca is inviting people to attend cocktail events and workshops for people who are considered adding a peto their family. it's a unique and fun way to meet families that need a home. the free event runs through sunday evening. coming up today at 5:00,

the vallejo police department is preparing for jobs. moments ago we heard that there could be hope. more details about that coming up tonight at 5:00. our next newscast is ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00. we'll see you then. until then, have a good evening everyone. and we hope to see you today at 5:00. [ female announcer hurry in to the jcpenney

appreciation sale for extra savings, now through saturday! save an extra 15% on all regular, sale, and clearance items -- no exclusions! save an extra 15% on all brands for her, an extra 15% on all brands for him. save an extra 15% on kids' clothes